The present invention relates to sporting goods, particularly to a portable seat and storage apparatus suitable for outdoor use.
Outdoors enthusiasts must frequently transport their sporting goods, as well as their personal supplies and effects, into the countryside for use. At the desired location, the outdoors person often needs or desires to have more supplies and equipment than can be easily carried using conventional devices. For example, and not by way of limitation, a fishing enthusiast might wish to carry food, drinks, fishing equipment, a chair to sit in, and other various items, to a remote fishing location. It can be significantly cumbersome to carry such a multitude of items as they are conventionally configured. Accordingly, there is a premium on having multifunction devices that can ease the burden of transportation while maintaining the variety of functions available for the user. Additionally, depending on the activity and the rigors of transport, a user may want to use only some parts of a multifunction device, therefore an ideal multifunction device should separate into separate modules that may be used singly, or in combination.
Various attempts have been made to fabricate such multifunction devices, but the essential feature of modularity is generally absent. One example is that of U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,103 to Presson, for a collapsible fishing chair with floats. The ""103 device incorporates several devices such as a chair and a storage compartment, but the user would also need to transport possibly unnecessary features, such as the floats, whenever the device is used. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,291 has various features, including soft sided storage compartments, an umbrella holder, and two fishing rod holders, but these components are not generally separable from the device. Some very simple devices, such as that seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,751 to Shyr, or U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,965 to Engman, are configured to have only a dual function, i.e., chair and single storage compartment in the ""751 device and chair and tackle box in the ""965 device, and therefore lack the versatility of the multifunction instant invention. Other devices, such as the collapsible sports chair of U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,197 to Springmann, which is provided only with a handle and carrying strap, lack the backpack feature of the instant invention, which is important when managing a heavy load over a distance.
Accordingly, the art has needed a means for improving the art of multifunction seating devices. While some of the prior art devices attempted to improve the state of the art of multifunction seating devices, none has achieved the unique and novel configurations and capabilities of the present invention. With these capabilities taken into consideration, the instant invention addresses many of the shortcomings of the prior art and offers significant benefits heretofore unavailable. Further, none of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
In its most general configuration, the present invention advances the state of the art with a variety of new capabilities and overcomes many of the shortcomings of prior devices in new and novel ways. In its most general sense, the present invention overcomes the shortcomings and limitations of the prior art in any of a number of generally effective configurations. An object of this invention is to provide outdoor enthusiasts with a convenient method of carrying a multitude of items with them on their adventures. Another object of this invention is to provide a comfortable and easy to carry seat that is suitable for a wide range of endeavors.
In its simplest embodiment, the apparatus is an open frame structure providing a seat with an adjustable back, a variety of possible types of and configurations for storage, and a system for attaching a multitude of possible accessories.
The overall construction of the apparatus is intended to be light and portable, therefore an open construction is generally intended, with possible frame fabrication materials, by way of example and not limitation, including such materials as hollow metal or plastic tubing. The central portion of the seat frame assembly is formed of an open frame seat frame perimeter structure and a storage frame perimeter structure, separated by vertical separation devices, which may be variable in length.
While the seat frame assembly may have a completely open structure, panels and mesh netting may also be used to enclose parts of the frame. A vertical panel may be attached to at least one portion of the seat frame assembly. The seat frame assembly may further be fitted with a storage frame panel attached to at least one portion of the seat frame assembly, and this panel may have one, or many, perforations, to prevent water accumulation on a horizontal surface.
Additionally, the legs of the apparatus may be adjustable in height and be formed with surface pads designed to stabilize the apparatus on soft ground. Further, the legs may be configured to hinge toward the storage frame perimeter structure to permit easy transportation of the apparatus.
While the seat back rotates away from the seat to form a more comfortable seating position, the seat back is also limited in rotation and adjustable to a wide variety of seating positions. This is accomplished most easily with an adjustable strap that connects the seat back to a portion of the seat frame assembly. Alternative methods of adjustably limiting the position of the seat back include locking hinge systems and ratcheting type connections.
Many of the variety of functions of the apparatus center about the storage assembly. The storage assembly may be a single or a multicompartment assembly, and may include a plurality of handles, compartment segments, lids, and drawers. The outdoor enthusiast can use the varying capacities of the storage assembly, by way of example and not limitation, to carry gear such as fishing tackle, transport food or drinks, or even to carry fish or small game, home from the hunt.
The storage assembly may be provided with at least one storage guide recess, which, along with cooperating structures on the seat assembly, can act as a guide to reliably guide the storage assembly into a storage position. The apparatus may further include a plurality of storage stops and storage retainers formed to limit the travel and secure the storage assembly on the storage guide.
The seat material is intended to be resilient and comfortable for sitting, and as such, by way of example and not limitation, fabrication materials such as plastic or canvas are envisioned. The seat may be formed as a single piece stretched between the seat back and seat frame, or may be made in segments that are attached to various parts of the framework. When the seat back is folded over onto the seat for carrying, an aperture in the seat and the back may allow handles from the storage assembly to extend through the apertures for convenient transport of the entire apparatus.
The apparatus may be configured with a wide variety of accessory features. These may include features such as measurement indicia, a carrying strap, and a system of interchangeable accessories based on a universal accessory attachment system. The system utilizes clamping type devices with universal attachment points, such that a wide variety of accessories may be attached to the apparatus. These accessories may include, by way of example and not limitation, fishing rod holders, cup holders, arm rests, storage pockets, umbrella attachments, fishing pole transport attachments, and many others, as will be obvious to one skilled in the art. The apparatus confers a highly desirable quality of modularity. For example, the apparatus may be used without any of, or with any combination of, the above mentioned accessories. Additionally, by way of example and not limitation, the device may be used with or without the storage assembly, which in turn, may be utilized alternately in a one compartment or multicompartment embodiment. In short, the outdoor enthusiast is able to select only those elements and accessories which serve the particular needs of an expedition, and may leave the other components at home.
The instant invention enables a significant advance in the state of the art. The preferred embodiments of the apparatus accomplish this by new and novel arrangements of elements that are configured in unique and novel ways and which demonstrate previously unavailable but preferred and desirable capabilities.
It is to be understood, however, that the same or equivalent functions and features may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention.